Experience with Aivituvin Coops?

[Rev0]

Hey guys! I'm currently looking for a coop for my soon-to-be small backyard flock. I'm planning on getting 2 bantam silkies and 2 standard speckled sussex's.

According to the the usual guidelines posted on here for standard hens:

• 4 square feet in the coop
• 10 square feet in the run
• 1 linear foot of roost
• 1/4 of a nest box
• And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation

Bantams are often said to need half the space of a full-sized bird.

Here's what I calculated for 2 bantams, 2 full-sized hens:

• 12 square feet in the coop.
• 3 feet of roost
• 30 square feet in the run
• 3 square feet of ventilation

I know, I know - many folks don't recommend a pre-fab coop for a variety of reasons and suggest building your own, but I am leaning towards the pre-fab route as I am probably the least handy person I know and would rather pay a little extra for the convenience. With that said, I'm looking at the Aivituvin AIR46. I've seen a few videos on youtube of backyard chicken owners with this coop and it seems like it fits most of the usual guidelines. I'd certainly do some modifications like adding hardware cloth and covers for the top of the run, but for the most part it seems solid.

Link: Aivituvin AIR46

Does anyone have any experience with these coops?

 

[rosemarythyme]

No experience with this coop, but some things to think about:

- The coop portion is roughly 33.5" x 40" externally so a little over 9 sq ft, enough for the 2 standard hens only. Nest boxes are not included as floor space.

- How easy/difficult will it be for you to get in there to clean and manage birds? Maybe your back is in great condition, mine sure isn't, and having to bend over to maintain a unit like this was an absolute pain.

- You're in MI, so I assume snow is a given in winter? How will you manage snow as this does not have a sloped roof over the run? Most birds will not go out into snow which means you're looking at 4 birds staying inside the coop for an extended period of time - for that reason in colder climates it's often recommended that you have 6 to 8 sq ft inside the coop per bird, which is bigger than this entire unit.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Coming in late here but I bought one of the Aivituvan coops, similar to the model you posted. I think mine was one model below yours, but pretty much looks the same.

If I could do it all again, I would have just built a coop and run. I'm not good with woodworking either, but I think even a simple frame with plywood on the outside and some shingles on the roof would have been better. This coop is holding up okay, minus some wood splitting, but it was WAY too small for my 4 chickens, even though the coop was said to hold 5. I had to add plywood to the run to make that area part of the coop, so now I also have to expand my run. It's just an ongoing project and I know by the time we get through the winter this thing will be rotting and I'll have to make a coop anyway.

I think I got a little too excited about getting chickens and rushed to find an easy solution to housing them, especially since I was new to this and didn't know what chickens required. If you are getting more than two chickens, I would not recommend this coop.

Also, another thing, the "roosts" included are about 1 inch from the flooring, and 0 inches when you have bedding in there. My chickens refuse to sleep on them and either sleep in the nesting box or on the roost I made by putting the bar up on some bricks. So you may want to reconsider your figures for the amount of roosting space the prefab coop includes.

Edit: This is the one I have

I realize now it does say 2-4 chickens but it's still way too small for that. I looked up the one you ordered and the run is more spacious than mine, but it is not covered. They likely will not go out in the snow. You may be shoveling that run lol.

But everything else I said before still holds true. These prefab coops are dinky and they likely won't want to use those roosting bars. I should add one positive thing though: it was easy to put together and it's very easy to clean.

 

[Oisian]

I spent a lot of money on prefabs and 3 of those nice 20x10ft chicken wire enclosures with roofs. I had two prefabs in each enclosure and to begin with, it was lovely. It looked great, the birds liked it and I was happy. One collapsed under snow. No birds died, but I did have to dig my way in and crawl through layers of icy snow to rescue them. We got 4 feet of snow in one night, early in the season before the ground had frozen. It was so heavy that all my fencing fell over and was a bit of a nightmare. It then froze and I couldn't move any of it until the spring thaw. One coop to clean would have been okay, but 6 of them became back breaking. My own lack of forethought came to bite me. I had previously kept the chooks in an old furniture delivery trailer and it was huge. So much for upgrading!
So, fast forward a year and I moved from NH to TN. The snow here won't be such an issue. BUT I'm older and less nimble and bendy. I went with a gentleman who builds coops for you. I got an 8x15 and a 8x18. I spent 4k$ [including delivery and construction] which was actually less than my crappy set up in NH. From experience only, I can say that you need a coop that YOU can fit in. Your back and knees will thank you and so will your girls.
Having said that...each person does what they can with what they have, so there's no wrong way to start, but it does help if you can start the BEST way possible and build from there.

 

[FLchix]

so we bought the 32 originally and set it up with the expanded run thats supposed to fit that particular model. we only anticipated having 4 chickens. low and behold, we end up with 8 chickens. so the only solution we could come up with was to buy the 48 model and connect it.


our chix are still in their brooder, but we will move them to the coop here in a few weeks.

the auvituvin brand seems to be doing alright here so far in SWFL.

the first thing we did was re-enforce all the hardware mesh with poultry wire i already had lying around. really glad we did that bc the original mesh on the 32 is already rusting out. another downfall of the 32 is that there is a 24" x 8" gap that im now having to craw and try to staple gun mesh into because the coop and the run design dont actually sit flush.

the 48 design has black wire mesh which im assuming is pvc coating. it doesnt feel as sturdy as the mesh on the original 32 we bought, but im re-enforcing it with more meah regardless.

ive also read reviews that the locking hardware is shody on the avivituvin brand, so we will be getting new locks, at least definitely for the nesting box becase it doesnt even really truely latch in my opinion.


the pros of this brand ive found is that it shipped promptly and arrived quickly. they have good reviews, but come to find out they will reimburse you sometimes a few bucks if you leave a good review. also these pre fab coops definitely require at least 2 people to put together. we've been recycling all the cardboard that comes with the packaging for use in the brooder.


so if this thread still exists in the future i will try to give an update and pics.

Hey guys! I'm currently looking for a coop for my soon-to-be small backyard flock. I'm planning on getting 2 bantam silkies and 2 standard speckled sussex's.

According to the the usual guidelines posted on here for standard hens:

• 4 square feet in the coop
• 10 square feet in the run
• 1 linear foot of roost
• 1/4 of a nest box
• And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation

Bantams are often said to need half the space of a full-sized bird.

Here's what I calculated for 2 bantams, 2 full-sized hens:

• 12 square feet in the coop.
• 3 feet of roost
• 30 square feet in the run
• 3 square feet of ventilation

I know, I know - many folks don't recommend a pre-fab coop for a variety of reasons and suggest building your own, but I am leaning towards the pre-fab route as I am probably the least handy person I know and would rather pay a little extra for the convenience. With that said, I'm looking at the Aivituvin AIR46. I've seen a few videos on youtube of backyard chicken owners with this coop and it seems like it fits most of the usual guidelines. I'd certainly do some modifications like adding hardware cloth and covers for the top of the run, but for the most part it seems solid.

Link: Aivituvin AIR46

Does anyone have any experience with these coops?

so first time backyard chicken parents here in sunny rainy florida. we bought the 32 originally and set it up with the expanded run thats supposed to fit that particular model. we only anticipated having 4 chickens. low and behold, we end up with 8 chickens. so the only solution we could come up with was to buy the 48 model and connect it because the model we wanted to connect it with was sold out until next year.



our chix are still in their brooder, but we will move them to the coop here in a few weeks.



the auvituvin brand seems to be doing alright here so far in SWFL.



the first thing we did was re-enforce all the hardware mesh with poultry wire i already had lying around. really glad we did that bc the original mesh on the 32 is already rusting out. another downfall of the 32 is that there is a 24" x 8" gap that im now having to crawl and try to staple gun mesh into because the coop and the run design dont actually sit flush. my only regret with using poultry fencing instead of regular hardware mesh is that the wire leaves jagged edges which i am now having to reenforce with metal panels for my own peace of mind. but thats my own fault.



the 48 design has black wire mesh which im assuming is pvc coating. it doesnt feel as sturdy as the mesh on the original 32 we bought, but im re-enforcing it with more mesh regardless. another problem with the 32 model is that it doesnt have ventilation. easy fix for us, we used a drill bit used for drilling doorknob holes and stapled screen and poultry mesh.



ive also read reviews that the locking hardware is shody on the avivituvin brand, so we will be getting new locks, at least definitely for the nesting box becase it doesnt even really truely latch in my opinion.





the pros of this brand ive found is that it shipped promptly and arrived quickly. they have good reviews, but come to find out they will reimburse you sometimes a few bucks if you leave a good review. also these pre fab coops definitely require at least 2 people to put together. we've been recycling all the cardboard that comes with the packaging for use in the brooder.



one major thing i was not expecting.. we have had the 32 model assembled and empty in the yard for a few weeks now. there must be at least 20 butterfly crysalis and caterpillers hanging inside the run and on the outside.





we plan on leaving them in the coop for at least a few days maybe a week before letting them into the run. i will try to give an update and pics.